At INFODAD, we rank everything we review with plus signs, on a scale from one (+) [disappointing] to four (++++) [definitely worth considering]. We mostly review (+++) or better items. Very rarely, we give an exceptional item a fifth plus. We are independent reviewers and, as parents, want to help families learn which books, music, and computer-related items we and our children love...or hate. INFODAD is a service of TransCentury Communications, Inc., Fort Myers, Florida, infodad@gmail.com.

December 12, 2013

(++++) HOW CUTE IT IS

Board books exist primarily
to delight, secondarily to educate. Sometimes the educational elements are
exceedingly clever, as they are in My
Lucky Little Dragon. Joyce Wan never tells readers outright, but what she
has created here is a book using the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac – a couple
of them modified – to talk (as many board books do) about the wonderfulness of
the baby to whom the book is being read. The book’s title refers to the fifth
sign, which is indeed deemed the luckiest of them all. Then Wan moves to the
sixth sign, describing baby as “my clever little snake,” that being an
attribute associated with the snake in the Chinese zodiac – and shown very
amusingly through a picture of a bespectacled snake reading a book while coiled
around a tree limb. And so to the seventh sign, “my happy little horsey,” and
then the eighth, “my snuggly little sheep” – although the eighth sign is
actually a goat. This is not Wan’s only change: she does proceed to monkey,
rooster, dog (which she gives as “puppy”) and pig, the 12th sign. But
then, instead of the rat – the first sign – she offers “my kind little mouse,”
mice presumably having greater cuddle potential than rats do. Then Wan works
her way through the ox, tiger, and finally rabbit (she makes it “bunny”) –
before ending the book with a built-in mirror and the exclamation, “Baby, I’m
LUCKY to have you!” This is a delightful little board book with an unusually
subtle underlying structure – one that will be clear to those familiar with the
Chinese zodiac but obscure to others, who will nevertheless enjoy the sweet
sentiments and delightful drawings.

Ten Tiny Toes teaches more overtly and with every bit as much
charm. Caroline Jayne Church here creates a sort of participatory rhyme, along
the lines of “head and shoulders, knees and toes.” Using big pictures (on
larger-than-usual board-book pages) of a small baby, she goes through baby’s
body parts one after another: “Mouth, ears, eyes, nose,/ arms, belly, legs/ and
ten tiny toes!” The rollicking toddler – accompanied by a teddy bear that
imitates all his motions – is told to “touch your ears, make them wiggle./
Touch your belly, laugh and giggle.” And so on. And again and again, Church
returns to the “ten tiny toes” refrain, until eventually ending with a rhyme
about “a love that grows and grows,” showing baby hugging the smiling stuffed
animal. Fun to read aloud thanks to its easy cadences, and useful in helping
very young children identify body parts and start to understand the number 10,
this is a very happy little book that the youngest pre-readers will enjoy
listening to and handling – which they can do with abandon, thanks to its
well-padded covers and very strong binding. Parents will especially enjoy the
little hearts floating all over the front and back covers and the front inside
cover – since love is what this book, like board books in general, is all
about.